Former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) account manager Manosha Karunatilaka pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on May 11, 2011, to conspiring to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors said he shared nonpublic information about TSMC product sales and shipments through expert-network firm Primary Global Research; the reported payments for consultation calls exceeded $35,000. The available reporting establishes the plea and a sentencing date that was set, but not the eventual sentence.
Who was Manosha Karunatilaka?
Karunatilaka was an account manager at TSMC, the Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer. The contemporaneous EE Times report said TSMC terminated him after his December 2010 arrest, citing violations of multiple company policies.
What did he admit?
On May 11, 2011, Karunatilaka pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in Manhattan federal court. The report said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara described the admission as defrauding a public company to obtain inside information and providing it to members of the investment community for securities transactions. Bharara said, “Manosha Karunatilaka thought he could moonlight for an expert networking firm and sell out his employer in the process.”
What information was shared, and how did Primary Global Research fit in?
Prosecutors described the alleged information-sharing as taking place from 2008 through 2010. The information concerned TSMC product sales and shipping, details that could matter to investors assessing the company and its customers. Karunatilaka provided consultations through Primary Global Research LLC, an expert-network firm that arranged calls for institutional investors. The EE Times report said he received more than $35,000 for those consultation calls.
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What punishment was reported?
For the conspiracy count, the report stated a maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the offense’s gross gain or loss, whichever formulation applied, in addition to forfeiture of proceeds. These were statutory maximums reported at the time, not a sentence imposed on Karunatilaka.
Was Karunatilaka sentenced?
The EE Times report said sentencing was scheduled before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff for September 15, 2011. A scheduled hearing does not establish that it took place, and the sources available here do not establish the eventual sentence. No later outcome should be inferred from the scheduled date.
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What TSMC’s insider-trading rules say
TSMC’s published insider-trading rules prohibit covered persons from trading TSMC securities while holding material nonpublic information and from passing such information to others who trade. The rules describe material information as information that could affect the share price or that a reasonable investor would consider important. They state that anyone possessing material nonpublic information about the company is an insider while that information remains nonpublic. A knowing violation may result in discipline, including termination, and may expose a person to civil or criminal liability.
Separately, TSMC’s 2025 annual-report disclosure says the company received no reports related to money laundering or insider trading in 2025 and lists zero monetary sanctions for the reported compliance categories. That later corporate disclosure describes 2025 reporting and does not establish the disposition of Karunatilaka’s 2011 case.
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